Drawing inspiration from the Finnish system, Reggio Emilia and the British Early Years Foundation Stages curriculum, our eclectic approach combines global best practices to create an enriching learning experience for our students. Our child-led approach to teaching and learning practices ensures that children develop according to their own unique strengths and potential. Through experiential, multi-sensory learning, concepts and ideas do not remain one-dimensional -- they come alive, enabling students to absorb, understand, and apply what’s being taught. We maintain small class sizes with teacher to student ratios of 1:7 to ensure not just that children receive personalised attention, but to also ensure that educators are aware of each child’s needs and can mould teaching practices accordingly.
The early years are critical for the development of healthy emotional and social skills. Real-life skills help children understand themselves better. Setting and cleaning up toys, helping prepare for community snack time, caring for art materials and similar everyday tasks help children feel a sense of ownership of their school, their community, their world and their life.
We believe time spent outside is time well spent. We know that it sharpens kids intellectually, emotionally and physically and reduces anxiety and stress. Exposure to nature is an important feature of life at VLC. Our nature immersion program encourages nature exploration throughout the year and every morning starts with learning through play.
True experiential learning is not just hands on, but is also reflective and learner-centric. VLC students are encouraged to engage with the interdisciplinary curriculum through projects based around art, music, cooking, technology, mechanics, carpentry, and gardening. They then reflect on their findings in group discussions, peer presentations and learning journals. This immersive approach facilitates the development of new perspectives and higher order thinking.
Children thrive best when there is a sense of trust and understanding between all of their primary caregivers. At VLC, we know that as your child's first experience away from home, we play a fundamental role in building the feeling of security which will eventually translate into confident discovery. To build strong relationships, parents are encouraged to have regular drop-in visits, participate in our frequent family events, share their personal skills and talents, and volunteer their time as often as possible.
We believe in treating children as the unique individuals they are and allowing learning, growth and discovery to happen at a natural, personalised pace. Our approach allows each child to explore his or her personal talents and interests in a supportive environment which recognises many different ways to learn. We provide children with strong creative and problem-solving foundations that will help them to thrive and equip them with multiple ways to approach a single task.
Despite our challenging and rigorous curriculum at VLC, our perspective on achievement is quite encompassing: -We believe in personal goals and competition only with oneself. -The term report cards are structured as indications of a learning journey rather than formal grades. -We teach our students that we hold them in high esteem and that positive self belief, coupled with our intellectually enriching curriculum, creates an exciting atmosphere of learning as a driven community.
